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US Senate Resolution on Kenya

Introduced on Friday, to be tabled this week, the resolution sets out terms for a viable, sustainable peace process. It calls for the US to apply sanctions, including a travel ban and visa freeze on leaders of PNU and ODM, until the crisis is resolved. The resolution is expected to pass unanimously, but this can be ensured by generating a critical volume of calls and emails to senators.

Call the sponsoring senators [1] (Feingold, Sununu, Coleman) to express your appreciation, Call the senators on the Foreign Relations Committee (Lugar, Biden, Clark)  and call your own senator [1], urging them to support the resolution.

SUMMARY OF THE RESOLUTION

1) Commends Kenyans for their commitment to democracy

2)  Urges all politicians and political parties to desist from reactivation, support and use of militia organizations

3) Calls for leaders of both parties to engage in internationally-brokered mediation and dialogue

4) Calls for a "thorough and credible independent audit of the election results" with the possibility of a recount, retallying, or re-run of the presidential election within a specified time period

5) Calls on Kenyan security forces to refrain from excessive force and respect the human rights of Kenyans

6) Calls for those found guilty of human rights violations to be held accountable

7) Calls for an immediate end to the restrictions on media and rights of peaceful assembly and association

8) Condemns threats to civil society leaders and human rights activists

9) Holds all political actors in Kenya responsible for the safety of civil society leaders and human rights activists

10) Calls on the international community, UN Aid organizations, and neighboring countries to assist Kenyan refugees

11) Urges the President of the United States to:

             – support diplomatic efforts towards dialogue between ODM and PNU leaders
            
             – impose an asset ban and travel freeze on PNU and ODM leaders

             – restrict all non-essential aid to Kenya until a peaceful resolution is reached

About Shailja Patel [2]

Shailja Patel is a Kenyan poet, writer and theatre artist who has performed at venues from New York's  Lincoln Center to the Zanzibar International Film Festival. Patel's first full-length show, Migritude, premiered in the San Francisco Bay Area, and toured Kenya to critical acclaim in 2007. The show was selected as the subject of the 2007 season premiere of SPARK! –  KQED TV's award-winning arts programme .Patel's work has received awards from, among others, the Ford Foundation, the National Performance Network, and Indian American Women Empowered. Most recently, she is a founding member of Kenyans for Peace with Truth and Justice, a coalition of Kenyan citizens and legal, governance, and human rights organizations, working towards a viable peace in the Kenya Crisis stemming from the December 2007 elections.

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